For recording I use DSP Plugins as they sound better than my Quad Cortex but for live I use the quad cortex. I want to avoid taking more than 2 guitars for my gigs. I normally tune to D Standard and some tracks are either in E Flat or Standard tuning.
The DSP Plugin’s transpose do a super job and sound the nearest to physically detuning the guitar so they would be perfect for live but I don’t want to have a computer on stage.
I’ve got the Quad cortex pitch shifter but it just not good. Nothing compared to DSP Plugin’s transpose, so I won’t be using the pitch shifter for live on my Quad cortex.
I hope that when we can use the plugins on the quad cortex the problem will be gone but in the meantime I’m going to have to buy a detuner pedal for live use instead of the Quad cortex. Anyone has any suggestions?
I didn’t buy the QC yet and its actually because these little “nags”…
Of course, no unit is perfect but, on a 1500+ unit, I expect to deliver at least the “fundamentals” in high quality and pitch shifting is actually one of those, in my book.
As this is all software, I don’t get the difference between plugin sound and QC… should be, at least, on pair?
Unless we are talking about a radically different architecture and the time needed to adapted it… is “X” on plugins the one??
I’ll double check but I think that pedal only goes one way…Not sure if it’s up to down, but I’ll check
On the video I’m using the plugin " Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ Suite" … I’ve tried the Plini X but it’s not for my taste.
I’ve had the Axe FX 2, FM3, FM9 Turbo, got the HX stomp and tried all the other big ones.
I bought the Quad Cortex for the power and size and ease of use BUT after using their plugins, the difference is massive.
I’m keeping the QC as I’m waiting to see what plugins they are going to allow on it, if they do the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ Suite X for example, I’ll keep it, otherwise I’ll go back to the FM9 Turbo for live, but keep using DSP Plugins for recording as the difference is night and day. My advise…Just wait till they add plugins into the QC that you love as the sound difference is massive IMO.
Thanks for the advice!
I do find a little annoying that the same company that can produce high quality plugins cannot have the same level of effects quality on their flagship product.
It’s software - should be same quality IMHO. Company is the same. I do find a little hard to understand this. I buy a 1500+ unit and have to spend additional $$$ in order to get high quality effects?
Have you tried a QC yet yourself?
That’s a valid point and indeed I did not - but when someone used to plugins and QC tells me the difference is “night and day”, you must understand that I’m bit nervous on the investment.
But yes - nothing like try and take our own conclusions 
the ‘night and day’ difference between plugs vs QC is just an opinion, and there are plenty of users whose experience is just the opposite, or- like mine- find that the QC can be tweaked to sound identical to the plugins.
There are so many variables that you shouldn’t take it as established fact that the plugins are better, that’s something you’ll have to determine for yourself.
Plugins may be easier to find a quick tone, basically the entire signal chain is laid out already and you just have to tweak a few settings.
The QC can require a little more work and finesse to dial in the particular tone you’re after since every stage of your signal path can be altered, re-arranged, etc.
But in my experience the QC can absolutely sound as good as the plugins, if not better in some cases.
Great! Thank you for the info.
Nothing like tryin’ out for myself then!
unfortunately (that’s hard to do) that really is the only way to know for sure.
For every opinion and result you’ll read online there are plenty of just the opposite!
There are still other elements of your personal signal chain to take into account too.
I agree with you on that…it’s my opinion and what your point of view is your opinion.
I’m not just talking about getting the QC to sound like the plugin…the plugin also feels more like an amp to me.
I’ve had the QC for quite a while and I’ve tried to get it to sound the same and I got it very near but it didn’t feel the same, so that’s my opinion, and making it sound better is your opinion and maybe your taste.
If everyone had the same taste, everyone would have the same guitar, gear and settings.
that’s exactly it- we’re all shooting for different kinds of tones so it’s really hard to say if a different user would find similar results. I don’t use many hi-gain tones; most NDSP users probably do. Also, where and how you use NDSP tech will make a huge difference in tone and feel.
“Your mileage may vary” is pretty much the motto here
I wasn’t even making a point yet, just asking. I have read quite a few of your comments on this forum and I don’t think you will get any wiser here when it comes to questions about sounds. But I do agree with everything @xush said.
Can you post a comparison samples?
If you want a polyphonic pitch shifter I would highly recommend the Line 6 HX One. It just came out and has an effect called “Poly Capo.” Apparently was developed by the original people who did the Digitech Drop. I use it for polyphonic pitch shifting live and it’s amazing.
I wish the pitch shifter in the QC was polyphonic. It looks like when they implement the plugins for the QC that they will have the transpose block. I saw it in the photos they posted of the QC screen in promo stuff recently.
Hi @Niksounds , sorry I didn’t record samples from the QC, I only recorded the DSP Plugin, transposed from D Standard to E Standard. Audio is coming from my phone so not very good but I was just messing about with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_ohIK730U&ab_channel=StevenFernandez
thanks for the link
Also, i think there isn’t difference at the end plugins/qc.
i’m able to obtain beautiful sounds from one or another, due the endless possibilities.
Nik
I don’t understand all the negative feedback. I’ve used the QC for drop tuning (Eflat mainly) for individual songs and whole sets. I find it exactly the same as my digitech drop pedal. Just make sure you are not getting any spill from the original signal, this can make the tuning sound off.
Hi @mosoto, is you look at the original question, you can see that I own the QC and have done for a while and I use the plugins for recording so I use DSP plugins too.
I was just asking suggestions because “For me”, the transpose option on the plugins are perfect and I don’t get on well with the pitch shifter on the QC, so I wouldn’t use it live to detune my guitar because (IMO), it’s not very good, compared to the transpose on the DSP Plugins. That’s just my opinion. I love the QC and I’m not selling it…it’s easy to use, small and powerful but I also added that (IMO) the DSP Plugins feel better “to me” than the QC. That’s just my opinion and it’s fantastic that we are going to be able to use the plugins in the QC…can’t wait 